FedEx Delivers for Last Minute Shoppers this Valentine’s Day

FedEx Delivers for Last Minute Shoppers this Valentine’s Day
Recent FedEx survey finds that one in three wait until the last minute to find
a gift for their special someone, say they’re willing to spend more as a
result
Business Wire
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- February 12, 2013
Love is in the air this Valentine’s Day, but one-third of consumers are just
starting to notice, according to a survey commissioned by FedEx (NYSE: FDX).
The survey found that 36 percent of gift-givers “wait until the last minute”
to purchase gifts for their loved ones.
The survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers found that gift-givers are much more likely
to procrastinate on their Valentine’s Day gift purchases than Christmas,
Hanukkah or Mother’s Day. Thirty percent finish their shopping just one day
before Valentine’s Day (or later), while just 18 percent do the same for
Christmas or Hanukkah. Ironically, 40 percent of those surveyed also believe
that February 13 is too late to find a good gift for a spouse or partner.
“Whether consumers have planned for weeks or waited until the last minute to
ship their valentines, FedEx is committed to delivering for our customers,”
said Paul Tronsor, Managing Director, FedEx Global Operations Control. “We are
experts in planning and have the teams and technology in place to move
millions of Valentine’s Day gifts around the world quickly and safely.”
With just a few days left before Valentine’s Day, FedEx has a solution for
gift-givers still looking to send a special present to a loved one. For those
true procrastinators, FedEx Priority Overnight® and FedEx Standard Overnight®
services will get packages sent out on Wednesday, February 13 delivered in
time for the special day on Thursday, February 14. FedEx Ground® and FedEx
Home Delivery® offer evening and appointment delivery services, to make it
more convenient for loved ones to be home to receive their Valentine’s Day
gifts.
According to the National Retail Federation, more than 25 percent (26.3%) of
gift-givers plan to shop online for Valentine’s Day. FedEx expects to deliver
millions of tokens of affection in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day and
provides many of its e-commerce customers with the capability to take orders
as late as February 13 for delivery on Thursday, February 14.
For the 11 percent of people who truly wait until the last minute and hope to
find a gift on Valentine’s Day itself, the network of 1,800 local FedEx Office
locations offers many options for creating thoughtful photo gifts, most of
which can be done in 24 hours or less – including canvas prints and custom
Valentine’s Day photo cards, as seen on the Out of Office blog. Those on a
budget and in search of a personalized gift idea can save 50 percent on canvas
prints by visiting fedex.com/office to download a coupon for use in-store only
at participating FedEx Office locations.
According to the survey, more than half of procrastinators (52%) are willing
to spend more money when buying at the last minute – a significant jump over
the 27 percent of non-procrastinators who are willing to do the same. However,
when it comes down to it, procrastinators spend on average $18 less on
Valentine’s Day gifts than non-procrastinators ($79 vs. $97, respectively).
The survey also found some interesting differences between men and women on
Valentine’s Day gifting:
*When it comes to procrastination, men tend to wait longer than women to
purchase a Valentine’s Day gift. About one in three men (35%) wait until
February 13 or later to buy something for their valentines, compared to
one in four women (24%).
*Women are eager to receive a little more than what most men plan to give
this Valentine’s Day. More women tend to want jewelry (22%), gift cards
(13%) and home-made gifts (12%), than men plan to give (13%, 8% and 6%,
respectively).
*However, men don’t skimp on spending for Valentine’s Day. On average they
spend nearly twice as much as women ($114 vs. $63).
Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest periods of the year for FedEx. In the
weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, FedEx expects to ship millions of pounds
of flowers, chocolates, jewelry and other gifts, making hundreds of thousands
of deliveries on top of its average daily volume of 9 million shipments. To
handle the influx of shipments during this period, FedEx and its networks of
dedicated team members will add extra flights and trucks to normal operations.
Additionally, select hubs and sortation facilities in the FedEx networks will
be hosting additional, longer or dedicated flower sorts throughout the week to
accommodate the incremental volume of Valentine’s Day flowers and gifts.
Survey Methodology
FedEx, working with Ketchum Global Research & Analytics and Opinion Research
Corporation, conducted a telephone survey among two national probability
samples, which, when combined, consists of 1,018 adults, 509 men and 509 women
18 years of age and older, living in the continental United States.
Interviewing for this CARAVAN® Survey was completed on February 1-4, 2013. A
total of 665 interviews were from the landline sample and 353 interviews from
the cell phone sample.
About FedEx Corp.
FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a
broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce and business services. With
annual revenues of $43 billion, the company offers integrated business
applications through operating companies competing collectively and managed
collaboratively, under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among
the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than
300,000 team members to remain "absolutely, positively" focused on safety, the
highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers
and communities. For more information, visit news.fedex.com.
Contact:
FedEx Media Relations
Jennifer Caccavo Cordeau, 901-371-6684
jennifer.caccavo@fedex.com